Most digital cameras today are similar in size to and behave like conventional point-and-shoot cameras. Unlike conventional cameras, however, most digital cameras store digital images in an internal flash memory or on external memory cards, and some are equipped with a liquid-crystal display (LCD) screen on the back of the camera. Through the use of the LCD, most digital cameras operate in two modes, record and play, although some only have a record mode. In record mode, the LCD is used as a viewfinder in which the user may view an object or scene before taking a picture. In play mode, the LCD is used as a playback screen for allowing the user to review previously captured images either individually or in arrays of four, nine, or sixteen images.
Digital camera user interfaces typically include a number of buttons or switches for setting the camera into one of the two modes and for navigating between images in play mode. One type of camera, for instance, includes two navigation buttons labeled "-" and "+", a mode button, a display button, a zoom button and a delete button. Play mode for this camera begins with a default screen displaying a full-sized individual image. Other images stored in the camera may then be displayed in a backward or forward sequence by pressing the "-" and "+" navigation buttons, respectively. Pressing the mode button during play mode causes four images to be displayed in a 2.times.2 array, and pressing the mode button again causes nine images to be displayed in a 3.times.3 array. The user can then "page" through screens of image arrays by pressing the navigation buttons, or the user can move from image to image in the arrays by first pressing the display button and then traversing across the images in the rows of the arrays using the navigation buttons. The user may have the full-sized image displayed of a chosen image by pressing the zoom button or can delete the image by pressing the delete button.
Although digital cameras that have both a record mode and a play mode are more versatile than digital cameras having only the record mode, two mode digital cameras suffer from several disadvantages associated with the camera's user interface. One disadvantage is that having only two modes means that either the camera only has a limited number of functions, or that several functions must be accessed in play mode since the record mode only has one function, capturing images. The disadvantages of having several functions in one mode is that the functions may have to be accessed through multiple levels of navigation screens, which complicates the operability of the camera.
Another disadvantage of conventional cameras is that the operation of user interface is non-intuitive, especially for the novice user. The user interface is non-intuitive because the operation of the user interface across different modes and/or navigation screens is inconsistent. Accessing most features in the two mode camera described above, for instance, requires that the user press the keys of the interface in a certain sequence. Each of these key sequences may be different depending on which play-mode navigation screen is displayed, the navigation screen showing individual images or the navigation screen showing arrays of images. For example, the function of the display button changes when the navigation screens change, and in some situations where the display button has been depressed, the mode button either becomes inoperable or the functionality of mode button becomes mutually exclusive with the functionality of the zoom button. Furthermore, because each navigation screen has a different key sequence, it is not obvious to the user how to exit that screen or how to choose a particular function. Thus, this type of user interface requires that the user memorize a different key sequence for each navigation screen before being able to effectively operate the camera.
A further disadvantage of conventional digital-camera user-interfaces is that the camera is capable of displaying only the images themselves, or a combination of an image and its image number. The user interface is either incapable of delivering further information regarding displayed images and the camera features, or accessing such information requires the user to enter another non-intuitive and complicated key sequence.
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved user interface for a multi-mode digital camera. The present invention addresses such a need.